User blog:SArchangel/Alyeska (Russian America)
The purpose of this blog post is to outline alternate-historical premises for the creation of the fictional country of the Federative Republic of Alyeska. This is an Altverse candidate. Main Points of Divergence * explorer of the gives much more detail about , rather than the blunt description IRL. He would provide even more detail to his wife. Kuskov would persuade his colonial comrades led by to write to their families as well. These letters will be combined to form the “Kuskov Papers,” distributed all over the empire including the , and encourage many Russians to colonize the area for a possibly better life. *When is accused of "siphoned money" to American banks, he would still be removed from power. But with the success of the 1812 Ross Colony (now , Sierra), and the confirmation that the rumor is completely false, Baranov is given an apology and returns to his post as Governor (rather than being sent back to Russia, where he dies on route IRL). *Russia would still proclaim the , but it would be worded differently. Foreign vessels would not be banned from Russian territory. Russia would still claim all of the coat of North America north of the (which would give Russia all the land north of Vancouver Island), and would also claim the Slavianka River (now the ) watershed (and coastal regions... more details to come) as Russian. With non-Russian ships allowed, the and would not show as much defiance as IRL (but would still dispute it). It would be Spain who is the most pissed, and would eventually agree to invade the colony. This occurs several days before Spain’s recognition of the ’s independence from the . General History *1822: Battle of Fort Ross, a small yet very important battle for Alyesky (Alyeska demonym) history. A small Spanish naval fleet attempts to capture Ft. Ross without declaration of war. At first, Russian and fishermen were able to sight the arrival of the fleet, and warned Ft. Ross, giving the Russian colonists time to prepare. When the Spanish arrived, Russian artillery was able to destroy one of the Spanish ships, but heavy damage to the fort and surrounding regions made it difficult for the Russians to defend a land invasion, and many colonists on land fled the scene. The battle turned when the many Russian naval and merchant ships began to get involved. After what is today believed as the firing of a gunboat artillery shell that killed the leadership of flagship, the Spanish were forced to retreat. Other contemporary theories include that the Spanish were too afraid to make a shore landing. Many fearing that the Spanish would come back with more ships and firepower, Fort Ross was abandoned and many sailed north for safety in Novoarkhangelsk, the first Russian colony. Once word reached about the unprovoked Spanish attack, the Russian Empire declared war the Kingdom of Spain, leading to the start of the Russo-Spanish War. *Russo-Spanish War aka the California War (1822-1825): A conflict fought between the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Spain over the control of the . Tensions between the two regional powers grew after the in Europe, during which Russia established a fort on the California coast during the Peninsula War (in which Spain was occupied by France). The conflict remained centered on the Alta California coast, but Spanish armadas pushed Russian forces out of California and to Oregon. There, battles were concentrated in the . Spanish control of the north was prevented when they failed to capture the . The war would take a drastic turn when the Russian Empire aligned themselves with and the , which weakened the Spanish forces in the war with the Russians. This alliance consisted of the promise of Slavianka River territory occupied by Spanish forces at the time to Mexico. *This war contributed to the forced abdication of the Mexican Emperor and the collapse of the Mexican Empire in favor of a Mexican Republic. This was because Mexican military generals and advisors serving in the war believed that Iturbide was an incompetent ruler. Together they founded the , and the Russian Empire was the first foreign country to recognize it. *The war ended in 1825 with the signing of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, which resulted in the First Mexican Republic and the Russian Empire taking control of Spain’s claims to the Pacific Northwest. The Russian victory (combined with Russia’s recent victories against and ) helped strengthen Russia’s global power among the other European powers, as well as the beginning of a permanent Russian presence in North America. The war weakened an already weakened Spain, further leading to the deterioration of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. The Russian presence also affected Great Britain and the United States, leading to a territorial conflict that would last until the late-1800s. *The Russian Empire and the United Kingdom (Britain) ratify a treaty which defines the boundaries of the two nations in North America. The (until reaching the northernmost bend) down to the (and then cut off by the Mexican border) will be the border between British territory and Russian territory. It is also agreed to jointly administrate the territory north of the 51st Parallel and south of the 54th Parallel and 40 Minutes (the Alaskan “foot” IRL). *Mexican-American War: During the war between Mexico and the United States, the California Republic is established by American and Californio settlers. Unwilling to go into conflict with the USA, the Russian Empire breaks its alliance with Mexico and becomes uninvolved in the conflict. *Gold Rush 1948: The discovery of gold in 1848 effectively changed the region as people from around the world rushed to the region to get rich. Believing that the United States ruled the territory, there was no incentive to occupy Central California for Russia’s benefit. Instead, Russian companies established large gold mining claims in California, overall boosting the Russian colonial economy significantly. *During the Crimean War, the Russian Alaska Army was made independent from central command and seized land up to the 54th Parallel and 40 Minutes border with British Columbia. In spite of Russian defeat, the land was never returned. Colonial rule reforms during and after the Crimean War somewhat increased isolation and autonomy of the Alaska colony from the Imperial government. *In 1859, official diplomatic relations with the newly founded began when the Sierran Crown Armed Forces required military generals to help train them. For paid sums, Russian generals trained the Sierran Crown Army and Navy, and the Russian colony sold ships to the Sierran Crown Navy. *Fraser Canyon Gold Rush and Cariboo Gold Rush bring waves of immigration to Russian Columbia. *Sierran Civil War: Throughout the duration of the Sierran Civil War, Imperial Russia supported the monarchy as the legitimate government of Sierra. Russian colonists wanted the war to end as quickly as possible, because it was hurting trade with settlements in Northern Sierra, and Russian businesses had to move out of the Bay Area. Entrance into the war was never approved, but Imperial Russia provided the monarchy with weapons. *After the war, the Russian government sought improved relations with the Kingdom of Sierra. Near the end of the 19th century, the Alaska Railroad Company recieved funding from a variety of colonial businesses as well as government funding to build a railroad connecting to the Central Pacific Railroad with approval from the Sierran and US governments. This became known as the Russian Railroad, which began from Alexandrapol (althist. Vancouver) down to Kolumbysk (built near the IRL location of Portland where the Columbia River splits into the Willamette Valley), and then to Winnemuca (IRL Nevada) in Sierra where it met the Central Pacific (was not built directly South into California like many wanted because of the Sierran civil war). The railroad was completed in 1879. *In 1986, gold was discovered in the remote Klondlike region of the Yukon Oblast in the northeastern part of the Russian colony. With the gold rush that resulted as a contributing factor, a new wave of immigration and infrastructural expansion began across Russian America. The use of railroads helped to keep the region active, but most still relied heavily on sled dogs to keep connection between the gold regions and the railroad hubs further south. 1900s *Throughout its existence, the colonists of Russian America had viewed their isolation from the Russian Empire as both a blessing and a curse. It was during this time that a separate Alaskan identity had developed and calls for greater autonomy began to become louder. Such movements only became more pronounced in the early 20th Century as Alaska's place within the globe became more active. This became apparent during the Russo-Japanese War, where Russian Americans bore the brunt of the fighting against Japan (becoming Alaska’s first major war since the Russo-Spanish War a century before). *The Japanese victory against Imperial Russia stunned the world. Competence of the Tsar’s rule was questioned by all, resulting in civil unrest and several rebellions across the empire, including the Alaskan colony. To cease any possibility of full scale rebellion in the Alaska colony, Tsar Nicholas II reluctantly agreed to give Russian America more autonomy, though hopes of establishing a commonwealth were sadly ignored. Under the reforms, Russian America was allowed to have a democratic legislature (the state duma), though the Tsar retained the power to dissolve the body at will (which took place following the first election of governor). *It was only during the chaos of World War I that independence became a reality. The Alaskan provisional republic was declared on March 8, 1917 concurrent to the Russian Revolution. Despite several failed efforts to recapture their colonies, the monarchy was overthrown from its capital seat in Novoarkhangelsk (althist. Sitka, Alaska) in November the same year (leading to the collapse of the Russian Empire). The new Communist government of Russia, led by Vladimir Lenin, formally recognized Alaska's independence. Ironically, the collapse of the Russian Empire only brought more conflict within Alaska. The massive influx of White Émigrés in the tens of thousands quickly conflicted with the original Alaskan settlers. *The Alaskan Republic was declared in 1918 under a democratic republic with a mixed capitalist economy, led by President Saveliy Churkin, who was originally elected governor by the state duma in 1906 (but eventually denied his position by the Tsar). The Alaskan Republic suffered from lack of unity in maneagement between the colonial oblasts originally established by the Russian Empire due to constant shifts in power between oblast governor-candidates. Educated by meritocratic philosopher Fyodor Obolensky, Churkin was eager to abolish democracy in favor of a meritocratic system to unify the oblasts, but his deputies advised him not to. Disillusioned by the settlement, Churkin resigned from office in 1919, and was replaced by democrat Denis Volkov. But with a broken democracy, Volkov found it difficult to unify the diverse masses. *In 1919, communist rebellion took place in the capital of Novoarkhangelsk before spreading to other settlements, where Alaskan Communist Party leader Anton Pushnoy established the Alaskan SSR with Lenin’s Comintern approvals. Pushnoy believed that democracy was not working in Alyeska and the people had to be unified under communism. This sparked a civil war against the Alaskan Republic, which reestablished a capital in Kolumbysk. Many southerners, who outnumbered the communist northerners, were in favor of private ownership of property and other capitalist features, and largely opposed communism. Many were business owners and farmers. However, the colonial military had always been headquartered in the north, and many northerners had fighting experience in Japan; they were battle-ready. The new communist government also took over mining communes and the vast oil reserves north in the colony. Churkin took the opportunity to begin formally establishing a meritocratic system in the Alaskan Republic, promising to select the "best of the best to lead us to victory the communists." He won a landslide victory among desperate southerners against Volkov. *The Alaskan Republic was aided by both the US & Canadian Armed Forces, although only the US Army participated actively. This became the official first proxy war that the US waged against the Soviet Union that backed the Alaskan SSR. *The Alaskan Civil War officially ended with the capture of Severesk (althist. Anchorage) from the communists in 1921, which dissolved the communist government. However, fighting by communist runaways continued, with communists attempting to flee to the Aleutian islands as well as St. Lawrence Island (locations of Aleut communes; Aleuts were considered citizens of the Alaskan Republic, as well as the Alaskan SSR). The US and Alaskan navies conducted Operation Oceanus, capturing several hundred communist renegades. Those convicted of war crimes were sentenced to death, and the rest deported to the Soviet Union. *The reconstruction process following the war went quickly, as business in the South was resumed quickly, and the oil reserve in the West Yukon Oblast quickly opened to an even more demanding oil market. Alaska was reunited as the Federative Republic of Alyeska, and soon its economy no longer relied on foreign loans. During the Great Depression, the Alyesky National Assembly selected Georgiy Preobrazhensky, who took the American Dust Bowl as the opportunity to open a mass agricultural market to the United States, Sierra, and Brazoria. Alyesky farmers could thus pay off credit loans from small, young Alyesky banks, lowering the possible level of deficits the Alyesky economy could have faced during the time as many bank failures were prevented from taking place. Alyeska’s population also lacked shareholders in the stock market as well as consumers of foreign goods; thus, the depression naturally drove Alyeska’s stable self-reliance in the 30s. *The vast unemployment rate resulted in a massive influx of workers from Alyeska’s neighboring countries. Workers were eager to work for even for outstandingly low wages. This opportunity allowed Alyesky employers to build hundreds of functional factories. The Alyeskan oil industry boomed thanks to major demand from the Empire of Japan, which heavily relied on Alyesky oil to expand its maritime empire. Preobrazhensky simultaneously purchased several hundred ship hulls from Japan, in order to produce a contemporary navy that could rival the USSR. By 1941, the FRAN (Federative Republic of Alyeska Navy) would consist of one famous battleship the AFRS Mariya, 3 cruisers, 19 destroyers, 25 convoy escorts, and 30 submarines. *The gradual falling out of relations between Alyeska and Japan began in 1937 during the invasion of China. While Alyesky multinational shipping companies were already doing business in Manchukuo, Alyeska was also allied in trade with the Republic of China. The news of the Nanking massacre also astonished the Alyesky people, and some corporate bodies in Alyeska decided to leave trade with Japan. *8 AM December 7, 1941: The Empire of Japan launched two bombing operations, one in the Sierran territory of Hawaii and the other on Unimak Island, the largest Aleutian island. Their targets were Pearl Harbor and Cold Bay, the Sierran Crown Navy possessing a large fleet in Pearl Harbor, and both the United States Navy and the Alyesky Navy possessing large fleets in Cold Bay. These attacks brought all three nations into war with Japan, and saw the height of the FRAN's war service. This alliance against Japan became known as the West Pacific Coalition, led by US general Douglas MacArthur. The WPC would later incorporate the Australian Navy into its ranks. TBC Proposed System of Government The Federative Republic of Alyeska is currently a meritocratic one-party semi-presidential federal republic Meritocracy One of the national principles in modern Alyesky society is "equality in opportunity, unique in outcome," a principle coined by Russian meritocrat Fyodor Obolensky, a famous revolutionary philosopher who moved to the Alyesky colony in 1898 as he feared that he would face the wrath of the Okhrana. Obolensky was the teacher of Saveliy Churkin, the first president of Alyeska. Obolensky was born in Kolumbysk in the colonies to a small businessman and was inspired by the American capitalist system. He joined the army and was sent to Russia to fight in the Russo-Turkish War, during which he became an officer of the IRA. After the war, he studied governance in Moscow. During which, he wrote that all people should be given equality in opportunity, opposing the Tsar's feudalistic system. Obolensky believed that hierarchies could only be created justly by a system of merit, where people earn their positions of power by intelligence, ability, and credit. A supporter of laissez-faire economic philosophy, Obolensky understood the driving incentive of merit-based competition. Obolensky was inspired by the communist manifesto, but criticized collectivism as being impossible as it was "against human nature." This is because Obolensky agreed with the Christian view of human nature. When confronted with the idea of democracy especially when he returned to the colonies, Obolensky argued that while democracy was a big improvement over medieval feudalism, nobody will have equal accountability (nobody is born equal to every one else and nobody will become equal to everyone else) regardless of what a democratic institution says, and that a democracy, especially representative democracy, is a flawed system of basic judgment for developing hierarchies, because people are not only easily exploited and decieved, but also deceptive in their own "sinful" nature. Obolensky argued that meritocracy was the best system of governance for a just human society, a system used successfully in the logistics of business and science, and that the system of judgment for accountability had to be way more complex than simple democracy. Obolensky wrote that "the best choices come from the best people, and the best people are selected by the best choices. This why Obolensky's logic was popularized in the Orthodox world, and his arguments are used to justify the East Orthodox theological concept of "theosis." Today, the dominating Blue Party in Alyesky politics supports a meritocratic system. "Equal Opportunity Policy" For instance, Alyeska maintains a 100% inheritance tax in order to maintain "equal opportunity." This tax money is used to fund high-quality, equal-opportunity unified public education systems starting from the age of three to the age of seventeen for all Alyesky children. At younger ages, children are able to spend quality time with family, but as they get older, this time is taken away for more school hours. Alyesky government also funds equal accountability health treatment for all Alyesky people from conception until the age of seventeen. Also, the central government provides basic housing for families with children under the age of seventeen, although this is not very common due to relatively decent income for most Alyesky families. Income taxes on Alyesky married couples with children have always been lower than child-less couples. Higher learning in Alyeska has always emphasized on the scholarship system. Unlike in other countries, how Alyeskan colleges work is that higher learning institutions loan students money for their college experience, and then expect them to pay it back in the future. Generally, the more profitable a career is, the more it costs to pursue via higher learning. Institutions of higher learning are operated from state ownership to public ownership. Business-owning shareholders can also invest in higher education, under the promise that institutions advertise their businesses to students looking for paying jobs or internship experience. Education (with the exception of college and other forms of higher learning established from a private to federal level), Health (with the exception of state-to-private health services for all older than the age of seventeen), and Housing (only for families with children under seventeen, and people are free to achieve their own means of housing through the real estate industry or a state-owned housing system) are the only central social institutions that the entire country operates on. In Alyesky culture, the incentive of "accountability by merit" is prevalent, and Alyeskies are taught from a young age to strive to be the best in whatever they will eventually become. In all matters of business, science, governance, education, etc, the meritocratic culture has helped Alyeskies dominate in all areas. Pragmatism The ruling political "Blue" Party define the pragmatist philosophy of governance. Meritocracy has been a major contributor to pragmatic thinking when it comes to governance. Pragmatists believe that no government program can be the "best forever," understanding that social climate conditions always change and thus systems must constantly change. Pragmatists reject the prevalence of idealism of political parties in democratic systems as "unstable," and that general collective populations are not qualified to make decisions on whether or not to introduce a particular program, and that other forms of judgment must be in place. For Blue Party thinkers, a transparent free market economy with free information exchange is the key to operating a pragmatic government and consumer culture. What this means is, even if their is no regulation over the economy (a free market economy), all parties have the right to all available market information including the origin of products, the composition of goods and services, and the history of all transactions upon the first step into the Alyesky market. The Alyesky constitution forbids most cases of economic regulation, and instead the government's role is to audit every institution of profit, service, and/or production and disclose that information to the public. Society also values the media, which is free to provide (biased) commentary on facts provided by the government, or even challenge the credibility of the "facts" that the government releases. The Federative Republic of Alyeska has attempted to bring their system worldwide, especially to the nations they trade with. In 1992, the Pacific Merchants Organization (PMO) was founded by Alyeska, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore to allow collective auditing and freedom of information exchange by any PMO firm toward any multinational organization of profit, service, and production native to any PMO member. For instance, a PMO firm based in Indonesia can freely audit a multinational company from Japan and distribute gained information to all PMO members without conflicts. The PMO agreement also creates a unified authority known as the Pacific Merchants Service, which has the freedom to conduct investigations (according to general protocol of course) on shipments from inter-PMO exchanges, even in international waters. Constitutional Rights Alyesky human rights defines humans as "anyone who is or has the capability of becoming an independent human being at some point in his or her lifetime since conception." Because of this, abortion is taboo in Alyeska; while not tackled in this statement, euthanasia is taboo as well. However, the use contraception remains a free choice. In Alyesky human rights, gender is purely a biological construct, not a social construct. All Alyesky citizens have the right to free speech, experession, and protest, as long as they are non-violent. This means these constructs are all permitted as long as they do not physically harm someone or include threats to physically harm someone. Physical harm does not include emotional harm. All Alyesky citizens have the right to bear loaded fire-arms on their own property. However, states can regulate the rights to open carry (in public places and/or on other people's property) and how much firepower is permitted. For instance open carry at a citizen level is completely illegal in the capital, Alexandrapol, while open carry laws are more relaxed in the states of Berin, Klondike, and Sitka, known for wild animal threats. TBC Federal System Outside of Constitutional governance, as well as the "Equal Opportunity Policy" (government-funded basic Education and Healthcare for children as well as basic Housing for needy couples with children) TBC Branches of Government TBC Proposed State Seven states: Oregon, Kaskadiya (Cascadia), Kolumbiya (Columbia), Yekaterina (Catherine), Sitka, Klondike, and Berin (Bering). Capital district: Alexandrapol State capitals: Kolumbysk (Oregon), Reynir (Cascadia), Vankuver (Columbia), Yekaterinodar (Catherine), Novoarkhangelsk (Sitka), Severesk (Klondike), Shelikhov (Bering) Government: Meritocratic one-party semi-presidential federal republic (Meritocracy inspired by Obolenskist social philosophy since 1909; one-party state established by pragmatic Blue Party under meritocrat Saveliy Churkin during the outbreak of the Alyesky Civil War; semi-presidential system adopted near the end of World War II in order to divide foreign and domestic agenda; federal republic system caters to diverse regional interests of the Alyesky states) Population: Approx. 58 million (2014) GDP per capita: $52,382 (nominal), $49,629 (PPP) (2014) GDP by sector: 66.3% services, 20.2% energy, 12.1% industry, 1.4% produce (fishing, game, agriculture) Inflation: 0.9% (2014) Currency: Alyesky rouble (₽) Gini coefficient: 0.434 (2014) Race: 70% White _ 8% Aleut _ 5% Native American _ 4% Central Asian _ 4% East Asian _ 3% Hispanic _ 6% Mixed Religion: 64% East Orthodox _ 26% Protestant _ 9% Catholic _ 1% Other Official languages: Russian and English (Uses both Cyrillic alphabet and English alphabet) Demonym: Alyesky (singular), Alyeskies (plural) Time zone: HAST (Bering, Hawaii) (UTC-10), AST (Klondike, Sitka, Yukon) (UTC-9), PST (Catherine-to-Oregon, Sierra, British Columbia) (UTC-8) (Uses DST in summer) Date format: dd-mm-yyyy Drives on the: Right Calling code: +1 Patron Saint: St. Herman of Alaska Category:Blog posts